Customer Reviews

Sippin' Safari: In Search of the Great "Lost" Tropical Drink Recipes... and the People Behind Them

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Berry's previous works, The Grog Log, Intoxica, and Taboo Table provide home mixologist who long to make truly spectacular drinks, the core recipes for most of the great Polynesian drinks of the past. However, that said, Sippin' Safari is the long awaited Tour de Force that has finally provided the home drink bum what he or she has so sorely been waiting for: A really good story to go with their drink!

Along with all of his newly shared recipes like the Pearl Diver and the Tiger Shark, Berry shares with his readers the stories about the men who designed and produced these drinks to begin with. After delving deep into the story of Don the Beachcomber, his choices of ingredients seem to make more sense, i.e Falernum, Pernod, Bitters, etc. In fact, it becomes obvious that these men may be known by way they make their drinks.

Sippin' Safari goes one step even better. For the first time, the hidden secret ingredients as well as the techniques associated with making them are revealed for reader. If making truly great Polynesian drinks is your thing, then Sippin Safari is an essential part of your canon of mixing.

With its stellar research, witty writing style and juicy imagery this Tiki tome is really a treat way beyond the drink recipes in it. It recaptures the history of Polynesian pop as viewed through a cocktail glass, with a wealth of deep information and never before seen visual material. By meeting the makers and shakers of many fine but forgotten cocktail creations, the mixing and imbibing of these potent potions will allow you to taste history, and picture yourself lounging in the long gone Polynesian palaces depicted in this book. A gem.

My copy of Beach Bum Berry's new book arrived and I have now read it cover to cover. All I can say is it is an awesome read.

Like a perfectly mixed tiki cocktail, it is a balanced mixture of tiki history, plenty of mixology, personal interviews and lots of beautiful color photos stirred in (one on just about every page). It is a great book on its own but it also has all recipies for all the classic tiki drinks in one book. Mai Tai, Zombie, Pearl Diver, Derby Daquari, etc. etc. they are all in here. If I was stranded on a tropical island and could only bring one tiki book this would have to be the one I would choose.

Now go and buy your own copy and place it in a position of honor on that shelf behind your tiki bar.

The recipe for the original 1934 Don the Beachcomber Zombie (the man and the drink that pretty much started it all) is worth the price of the book alone. Simply the BEST tiki drink I have ever had.
The recipes in all Beachbum Berry's books took a lot of time to procure, and they are (mostly) all worth it. I think it was only the "Dr. Funk" I thought was "OK" the other 20+ drinks I've made so far have been outstanding!
What makes sippin safari great, aside from the new drinks and the mind blowing Zombie is the entertaining history of the drinks and bars, as well as the great photos of interiors, exteriors, menus, etc...that aren't present in his other books. this is a book you could buy for someone who doesn't even drink. Although drinking certainly helps!
This book is so thorough, I don't know what else Beachbum could do for a follow up!
Cheers!

Exhaustively researched but far from exhausting to read, Sippin' Safari is simply pure pleasure from cover to cover!

Written by the world's foremost expert on exotic mixology and its extremely colorful history, it's just that history which Jeff "Beachbum" Berry so enjoyably chronicles in this small but gorgeously produced volume.

Most chapters concentrate on the vivid personal history of someone who had a vital role in the Polynesian Pop restaurant and exotic "tropical" cocktail craze of the late 40's through early 70's (and its current resurgence of popularity). And, as a result, this book is an addictive series of rollicking incredible-but-true adventures punctuated by remarkable drink recipes resurrected from the alcoholic ether by Berry, thanks to his own diligent detective work and the generosity of some of those characters whose lives he covers in such colorful detail.

And his chapter of the history of the Zombie is a classic in itself!

Reading this tome for the fourth time now, I find that I keep coming back to it the way one keeps returning to a favorite restaurant or watering hole -- once is simply not enough!

The only real problem with Jeff's book is that between his mouth-watering descriptions of the full-rainbow-spectrum of delightful drinks on display and the almost pornographically alluring photos of those drinks by the talented Jonpaul Balak, I find myself DYING to sample every luscious libation I encounter! And it drives me NUTS! (But in a GOOD way!)

Cheers & Bottoms Up!

Jeff "Beachbum" Berry has heavily researched and gone to great lengths to find the true recipes that were guarded with total secrecy to prevent competition from copying the concept. When tiki bars started popping up, only a few people held the real drink recipes that translated to job security. Written in code, the books have finally been cracked by Jeff, and are being shared with the public for the first time ever. He did this by finding the original bartenders (not many of them are still with us, and most, including the inventors such as Don the Beachcomber, took them to the grave). So, you think you've tasted a Zombie? Sorry to say, that it was probably a poorly watered down version of the original. That original recipe and many others are revealed here, with the stories behind the men that made them at the peak of the Tiki Bar craze.
Not much was known about the book's central study: Don The Beachcomber, the originator of the Polynesian bar, restaurant concept. (New recommended book: "Scrounging the Islands with the Legendary Don the Beachcomber: Host to Diplomat, Beachcomber, Prince and Pirate" (Paperback) by Arnold Bitner) Here you get an in depth look into his life, his competitors who tried to steal his ideas (with success in some cases), and the rise and fall of the Polynesian craze.
You'll understand exactly how the tiki craze took off, and be able to concoct some of the greatest drinks of its era, with the help of this book. Awesome full color photos, graphics and illustrations. It's a must have reference!

A wonderful illustrated and researched book on the history of Tiki drinks and where they all came from by Jeff Berry. With sensational artwork by Kevin Kidney. You can't go wrong with this combo... I'll have a double!

This is a fantastically instructive and entertaining guide to the history and making of authentic tropical drinks, heavily slanted, of course, to rum-based concoctions. It has a great up-to-date (2007) review of the currently available flavorings and ingredients necessary to mix these libations. The book is worth the price alone for both the suggestions and the caveats and warnings Berry gives when you go out to purchase the ingredients; his assessments generally agree with my experiences, and can save you some serious dough on poorly conceived and manufactured commercial syrups, liqueurs, and flavorings that have flooded the market.

But beyond that, it is simply a fascinating history of the characters, bars, and shenanigans going on behind the scenes when these drinks were being developed and served to a very appreciative clientele, primarily between the 1930's - 1970's. The old photos,inserts, and advertisements scattered throughout the book (many in color) are fantastic reminders of a bygone era and make one long to be transported back to a simpler and, perhaps, better time. Although sometimes a bit difficult to follow, it is hard to put this book down once you begin reading it - brimming with great stories and information!

I give this gem my most enthusiastic recommendation. If you don't have Berry's earlier books Grog Log, Intoxica, and Taboo Table, (which are conveniently spiral-bound but commanding high prices for the latter two) buy this one first and get those later. Sippin' Safari also includes a few drink and "secret mix" recipes which were missing in the earlier books, and the chapter on the infamous Zombie is priceless (complete with a photo of the Zombie-Master himself). The production values are also much better than in the earlier books.

My only regrets are that this is not available in hardback and in spiral-bound soft cover. I also wish the rum reviews were more extensive and detailed. But other than that.... Order this book NOW and then go kick back with it and a Zombie while you sit under a Palapa enjoying the Good Life!

Great book, pretty much the definitive source on the history of tropical drinks, the people that made and created them as well as famoust tiki venues. Drink recipes contained within are extraordinary. People back then knew how to live. I was born in the wrong era.

Jeff Berry is my hero! He has save the history of the post war tiki/tropical drink way of life. This book introduces the "Rum Pack", the folks behind the drinks we love, back when a drinks with a tropical twist ruled the bar. Jeff shares his treasure chest of research and passes on some of the finest drink recipes ever made. Some of these gems (stories and drinks) were almost lost forever! The drinks are on me if I ever meet Jeff Berry in person.